We left Woody Point early, it had been very strange to go there but well worth it, it is just a shame that we did not know where my Family had lived it would have been good to look the place up.

North on the Bruce Highway towards Australia Zoo, we went, home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. It took us about 45 minutes to get there and we didn't arrive long after the gates had opened. The first sight that greets you is a bronze statue of the Irwin Family accompanied by a croc, quite sad really.

We walked around to look at the reptiles but most were hiding out of the way and we hoped that the rest of the animals were not that shy. Then we came across a photo opportunity a cuddly koala, since Wayne and I have been in Australia we have been on the lookout for Koalas and Mum and Dad also wanted to see one and here was our chance, so I stepped up for the photo. It was so soft and looked just like a cuddly toy. We went to see both the tortoises and elephants being fed, the rangers were really good and explained about the animals and their diets. There are lots of shows on at the zoo the most famous being the croc show at the crocoseum, this was our next port of call. There was a snake and parrot display before the main event 2 handlers came out with their buckets of meat, we could them see on the big screen 2 croc making their way in to the arena via a small canal with a shutter making it in to a holding pen. The gate was released and the crocs slowly made their way in to the pool, all the while being watched by the keepers. One was doing the talking and keeping a weary eye on the animal while the other keeper watched the crocodile closely in case he made any kind of move. The

running commentary told us about crocodiles habitats and that if you ran from them then you would outrun the as they can't run, however if they strike their accuracy and strength is too much for nearly anything to escape. We then watched as the keepers fed the crocs bit pieces of meat which they dangled precariously in front of them and time it just right to drop it as the croc rose off the ground to snatch it. Cool stuff. The afternoon saw more koalas mainly asleep which is their main past-time, but we did manage to walk through the koala enclosure as they were waking for their food, which meant they were more alert and one even ran across the ground in front of us. We saw the tigers playing in the tiger temple and also a walk through the aviary. We took a walk through the kangaroo field, which is an open pen where humans can get up close, touch and feed the kangaroos which was good as some allowed us to stroke them, they are surprisingly soft. We also saw the Tasmanian Devil, Camels and Foxes, which were introduced and the authorities are trying to reduce the numbers as they have gone out of control. The last part of the day saw more crocodiles, this time a display in their own huge pens, the keepers re-fed them and also had a question and answer session for the audience which was really interesting, one of he best questions was if anyone ever swam with them at the zoo, the answer was no-one they are still dangerous, however Steve did used to jump in with them!

The next morning we booked in for another night at the Sound as it was such a nice little place and we wanted to explore Noosa a bit further. We went to Hastings Street in the centre for some breakfast the area was packed but we just managed to secure a table. After breakfast we made our way to the beach and had a walk, it was pretty busy. We then drove around to the spit and the river mouth, which was also busy but there was more to watch, boats, fishing and swimmers. Mum and I went back to the town to have a look around the shops. The area has a lot of money and therefore the shops and restaurants are also top end, although very posh, there is a relaxed feel to Noosa. We brought some sun hats as it was warm outside and made our way back to Wayne and Dad who looked as though they had been cooking while we had been gone and were just about to cool off in the water. In the afternoon we drove back around to the riverfront and picked up some bait so that they could go fishing, I fell asleep while reading my book and woke up to find that they had all caught a fish even Mum! I had a go and straight away caught a flathead! We had a lovely relaxing day. In the evening we made our way to the riverfront area again for dinner and ended up in a seafood restaurant. Wayne and I had a massive seafood chowder to start served in a huge loaf of bread, Mum and Dad shared Scallops. The special was lamb shank so three of us had that and Dad had a steak, just delicious.

We had some crumpets for breakfast before we left Noosa, but headed to the Noosa Heads National Park for a walk along the coastal track. We were on the look out for Koalas again, but this time were not in luck, they are most active around 8am and 4pm so we were a little late. It was a nice walk and the water was a vivid blue colour, we walked along by the boiling pot, where the water rushed around the rocks and seems to bubble up as a pot of waster on a stove would. We did not have enough time to walk the whole track instead we stopped at a couple of lookout point, past some nice beaches and saw the surfers on their way to catch a wave. We then made out way North, it did not take long before we were driving through nothing and the road turned to a 2 lane carriage way, so we were suck behind caravans and trucks. We drove about 200kms, before stopping for a break at Childers a small town on the Bruce Highway. It seemed a bit like a farming community and obviously a stopover point for drivers up the East coast. We got Aussie pies from the bakery and ate them outside with some coffees. Wayne went for a Ned Kelly Pie, beef, cheese, egg, bacon and onion topped with tomato ketchup, he said it was nice. We drove on about another 200 or so km by this time it was about 4.30pm and we had arrived in Rockhampton, the beef capital of Australia, apparently. We found a caravan park that had a two bedroom cabin available so we checked in and headed to the supermarket we were having steak for tea with salad. Before we wet back we stopped off at the pub for a quick drink, it was empty and felt very old fashioned even though it was quite new,probably as it was in a farming community it had that outback feel!